The Best Birthday Present Ever
by Call Me Sami
Summary: On the night of her Sweet Sixteen, Sharon is about to receive the best present she could've asked for. Sharon/Alden, but mentions Conner/Alyson and Maria/Brock. One-shot.


**Author's Note:**

So I was feeling nostalgic and decided to binge-watch the entire Braceface series on YouTube (and got to see all the episodes that never aired in America! Yay!). And I fell in love with the Sharon/Alden pairing all over again. They've been my OTP since childhood and I think they were the first fictional couple I ever cared about. But when I came to this site to read stories about them, I was disappointed to find that almost every Shalden story (and Braceface fanfiction in general, really) has remained incomplete for years. So I decided to write my own! To make sure my story doesn't fall into the same trap, I've decided to do a one-shot. I'm really not expecting many (if any) reviews, since the Braceface section is pretty much a ghost town (and very few people seem to remember the show). But if I could make even just one person like myself happy, it'll be worth it!

 **Disclaimer** : **I do not own Braceface. But I really wish I did so that I could attempt a reboot (how cool would that be?)!  
**

* * *

Sharon Spitz stood in the middle of a hotel ballroom with a big smile on her face. Tonight wasn't just any old night. It was her Sweet Sixteen! And so far, everything was going perfect. Her dad, Richard Spitz, had played with his rock band at this hotel many times and was tight with the manager. So he was able to get an amazing deal on renting out the ballroom for Sharon to have a party with her friends. The room was beautifully decorated with an assortment of pastel colored balloons and streamers. And of course, a big silver banner that said "Happy Sweet 16 Sharon" in pink letters. Richard also got a DJ he had done some work with in the past to play all of Sharon's favorite songs. And he was taking requests from her friends as well. There was a vegetarian buffet and the cake had already been cut.

Sharon herself also looked fabulous! She finally had her braces removed over the summer and was now able to smile without feeling self conscious (or deal with any of the other freaky side effects her braces brought). Her golden blonde hair was styled in an updo. But instead of wearing her usual hairclip to pin back her bangs, she had a thin silver headband keeping them out of her face. It almost looked like she was wearing a tiara from a distance. But it looked classy and not tacky like the crown her archenemy, Nina Harper, wore the entire week of her 14th birthday. Her good friend, Alyson Malitski, did her makeup for her. She had on black slingbacks that made her 3 inches taller. She had mostly outgrown the clumsiness from her early teen years and was able to walk gracefully in high heels without tripping (though she still preferred to wear flip flops or sneakers on a normal day). But the best part of her outfit was her dress! She was wearing a strapless lavender dress with a lavender cloth flower that had pearls hanging down from it pinned to the right side of the dress. It looked like something Carrie Bradshaw would wear on _Sex and the City_. She knew Dion would definitely approve!

Speaking of Dion, Sharon really wished he could've made it out to her party. But he was a sophomore at FIT in New York and was swamped with school work. He promised to make it up to Sharon when he came back to Elkford for the break between the fall and spring semester. She would be sure to send him pictures of her outfit before then though! They still kept in touch through email and AIM. He was so easy to talk to and Sharon was glad he was getting closer to making his dream of becoming a famous fashion designer true.

Sharon had even more to smile about than just the party though. This was turning out to be a pretty great year and she was actually loving high school. Not having to wear braces anymore was a big part of that. But also, Nina moved to California after the school year ended last June when her mom got a transfer at her job! She spent the last couple of months of 10th grade bragging about how she was going to become a huge movie star now that she was gonna be living in LA. And then she was gonna move into the music industry and release a hit album and perform a duet with the pop singer Leena. And she was gonna win an Oscar and a Grammy! Sharon wasn't sure how that was gonna happen considering that the girl was tone deaf! But hey, at least she had goals. And honestly, Nina could become the next Jennifer Lopez for all Sharon cared. The point is, there was no way she would be able to make her life miserable from all the way over in LA!

Plus, she had a wonderful family who helped make this Sweet Sixteen party possible, the greatest friends ever and the best boyfriend in the world!

Alden Jones was the love of her life and they had been going strong for over a year now. They may have had a pretty bad breakup the first time around at the beginning of 9th grade, but that was all water under the bridge now. They were at a point in their relationship where they had mutual trust and no longer felt any jealousy over people on the outside. They had taken some pretty big steps on a physical level too. In fact, she was seriously thinking about going all the way with him soon. They'd been talking about it for a while. Sharon had been on the pill for about 6 months now. While her reason for going on the pill was to help with the terrible cramps she had been getting since she first started her period, she knew it would be a good idea in case she and Alden ever got caught up in the moment. And when she told him she was taking birth control, he started carrying a condom in his wallet to have extra insurance against pregnancy whenever Sharon decided he was ready. Knowing they would be prepared definitely made her feel better about it.

As _Rags to Riches_ by Leena was playing, Alyson and Sharon's best friend, Maria Wong, approached her.

"Hey Birthday Girl!" Alyson greeted her "Is sixteen everything you hoped it would be?"

"It's even better."

"Well that's good to hear." Maria sighed in relief "If anyone deserves to have a happy birthday, it's you. The last few years of your life have been a little... crazy to say the least."

"Tell me about it!" Sharon exclaimed as she sighed herself. It was true. Her life had been nothing but chaos and one humiliating event after another ever since she got her braces at age 13. Some of this was due to her braces themselves causing interference with electronic devices (which no one except Maria knew about to this day), some of this was due to bullies like Nina and some other mean girls in high school, some of it was just the awkwardness of growing up in general and a lot of times Sharon just ended up sabotaging herself with her own insecurities. But now, she finally felt like she was in a good place in her life and was comfortable in her own skin.

"Hey look!" Alyson gushed as she pointed across the room "Alden's coming over. Maybe you'll get some birthday sex tonight!"

"Alyson!" Maria cried out in part disgust and part amusement "I swear, you've become such a pervert ever since you and Conner became sexually active".

"I have not!" Alyson protested

Sharon rolled her eyes, ready to laugh herself. The girls may have been getting older, but their sense of humor remained the same. She was glad the three of them could still joke around like they did during Freshman year, even if the jokes were a little dirtier now. It was just a relief to know that some things remained the same, even with all the changes ahead of them.

"Besides, haven't you seen the two of them together lately? Or heard the way Sharon's been talking about him? She's totally ready!"

Sharon thought about what Alyson was saying. Was she finally ready to lose her virginity? Alyson had kind of become an expert on the subject ever since she and Conner slept together for the first time on Valentine's Day. It was a little weird to imagine Conner having sex at first, since Sharon thought of him as a brother. But she was glad she had Alyson to turn to for advice and any questions she had. And boy did she have a lot of questions! She and Alden had been talking about having sex ever since they got back together. Curiosity was only natural at that age. But Sharon was never quite ready to go there yet, even though Alden had been wanting to for the last year. Going to 2nd base was the compromise. They hadn't really gone much further than that. But Sharon was starting to feel more and more comfortable with the idea after Alyson had shared her experience.

Maria may have been her best friend, but she was still a virgin. And given how she and Brock had broken up and gotten back together more times than Ross and Rachel on _Friends,_ it didn't look like she was gonna be ready any time soon. Sharon felt really bad for them both. Even though Maria was a virgin, Brock wasn't. The very first time Maria and Brock had a huge fight and broke up at the beginning of 10th grade, Brock jumped into bed with Tess. When they hadn't even been broken up for 24 hours. And to think Sharon was always worried Alden was the one Tess would steal away! It was Brock's biggest regret and they all knew how terrible he felt about it. While Maria did eventually forgive him, there was no denying it caused a huge rift between them. But it seems they must still love each other in someway if they were always able to kiss and make up. Brock Leighton was Alden's best friend and a friend of Sharon's too. She just wanted them to both be happy.

But she wasn't going to worry about any of that tonight! It was her 16th birthday and she was here to have fun!

Alden approached the three girls with a smile on his face "Hey Maria. Hey Alyson. Would you guys mind if I steal Sharon away for a minute?"

"Not at all." Maria said as she walked away.

"She's all yours." Alyson agreed as she winked at Sharon before walking off.

Alyson and Maria walked over to Conner and Brock, respectively. Alyson and Conner were being their usual cutesy selves. With hugs, kisses, whispering in each other's ears and laughing. Thankfully not quite in "get a room" territory like they tended to get lately. Maria looked like she was patching things up with Brock. Which meant they were probably getting back together for the trillionth time.

"Come on!" Alden demanded as he took Sharon's hand and pulled her away from the party.

"Where are we going?" Sharon asked excitedly.

"You'll see."

Alden took Sharon outside and lead her out to the gazebo right next to the hotel. It just so happened to be a beautiful night out. It still felt like summer, even though fall was only four days away. But it wasn't muggy or humid out. The temperature was perfect. And the stars were out and shining bright too.

He took her under the gazebo and handed her a small box.

"Happy Birthday, Sharon! I know you haven't opened any of your presents yet, but I wanted to give you this in person... and alone..." He nervously put his hand behind his head.

"Thank you." Sharon said as she took the box and opened it up. It was a blue sapphire ring. Her green eyes lit up as soon as she saw it.

"It's my birthstone!" she whispered, awestruck. "How did you ever afford this?"

"Well, I've made quite a bit of cash with some of Mangled Metal's more recent gigs. And I've picked up some extra shifts at my Uncle Doug's plant. And... my mom helped me out a little..." He seemed a bit embarrassed by that last part.

"Well I love it! I really do. But you really didn't have to get me anything so expensive. I would've been happy with another mouse pad."

Alden laughed "Don't be silly. It's your 16th birthday. You deserve the best."

"Sharon smiled as she placed the sapphire ring on the ring finger of her right hand. She admired the way it looked against her french manicure. She had gotten her nails professionally done that morning. That was her birthday present from her mother, Helen Spitz.

Sharon and Alden kissed. Each kiss getting deeper and more passionate than the last. And that was when she knew. This was the "perfect moment" that she had been holding out for. She had always wanted her first time to be on a momentous occasion like an anniversary, graduation or Valentine's Day like Conner and Alyson. And this was her 16th birthday. The 2nd most important day in a girl's life, with only her wedding day being the first. She couldn't think of a better occasion for this! Alyson was right when she told her when you're ready, you'll just know. And Alden was a virgin too, so it was gonna be the first time for both of them. Could it get anymore romantic than that? She knew he wanted her just as much as she wanted him in that moment.

"Come with me!" She said.

"Where are we going?" He asked, confused.

"You'll see!"

She led Alden into the hotel lobby. She approached the front desk. The clerk was a young twenty-something woman with long, dark brown hair.

"Hi, my name is Sharon Spitz. I have reservations under my father, Richard Spitz." Richard had gotten Sharon a hotel room in case she wanted to have a sleepover with Maria after the party. She was sure he wasn't intending on her using it for the purpose she was about to use it for though.

The clerk checked her computer and nodded her head.

"Room 401." She said as she handed Sharon a key card.

"Thank you." Sharon responded as she took the key card, grabbed Alden's hand and led him to the elevator.

As the elevator went up, Alden really started to wonder what this was all about. Was Sharon actually ready to go all the way with him? He'd been wanting to take that step with her not too long after they got back together at Enviro-Camp. But if the night really was headed this way, he hoped it was because she really was ready and not because she felt she owed him for giving her such an extravagant gift. The last thing he wanted was for Sharon to regret their first time together. Especially on her birthday. His thoughts continued as they exited the elevator and walked down a hallway full of rooms. They stopped when they got to room 401. Sharon pushed the key card into the slot above the doorknob and opened up the door. The two teens walked into the room and Alden looked around with his eyes.

"It's a hotel room... with two beds?"

"Yeah, but I think we're only gonna need one bed." She replied, trying to make her voice sound seductive. It didn't really work, but it was still cute to hear her try.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

She nodded her head and smiled "I'm ready!"

"Wow. Listen, Sharon. If this is because of the ring I got you, you're not obligated to..."

"It's not about the ring. Don't get me wrong. I love this ring! It's so beautiful and a very thoughtful gift! But I've been thinking about having sex with you for a while. And tonight... well... it just feels perfect!"

"Are you sure?"

"I've never been more sure about anything in my life!"

She pulled him in for a kiss and led him over to one of the beds. They continued to kiss as they both took off their shoes and put them under the bed. Between kissing, Sharon managed to unbutton Alden's white shirt and throw it on the floor. She then undid his pants, revealing his black boxers. He kicked his pants off of his feet and unzipped the back of Sharon's dress. Her dress fell to the floor, revealing her strapless black bra and matching panties. He reached to unhook her bra, but could feel her tense up a bit. She was clearly nervous. He was too, but his hormones overpowered his nerves. Still, he wanted to make sure she was really ok with this before continuing.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Sharon? Because we really don't have to..."

She pulled him into another deep kiss, practically shoving her tongue down his throat.

"Make love to me!" She insisted.

With that said, Alden proceeded to unhook Sharon's bra and then stared down at her bare chest. She had a pretty big growth spurt in that area over the last year. She was still no Pamela Andersen, but she was now a 32b. She definitely didn't feel the need to be wearing a pump-up bra anymore! While Alden had felt her breasts under her clothes before, this was his first time seeing them up close. They stood out nicely against her slender frame. He pulled down her panties, which led to her pulling off his boxers. They both stood there and looked at each other's naked bodies for a minute before going back to kissing. They hugged tight and slowly fell onto the bed.

"I love you!" Alden declared between kisses.

"I love you too!" She replied as the kissing continued. Between a few more kisses she asked "Do you still have that condom in your wallet?"

"I do." He said as he got off the bed for a minute to retrieve it. He picked up his pants, took out his wallet and pulled the condom out. Thankfully, he outgrew his habit of always losing his wallets. He ripped open the wrapper and slipped the condom on. He climbed on top of Sharon and started making love to her.

Sharon immediately felt a sharp pain. Alyson had warned her the first time would hurt, but she wasn't expecting it to be this bad. She actually cried a little from how intense the pain was. Alden noticed her tears.

"Are you ok?" He asked. "We can stop this if it's hurting you too much."

"No!" She said. "I don't want to stop! Just keep going. It does hurt, but I'll be fine."

Alden sighed as he continued. He hated knowing he was causing her so much pain. But it was what she wanted. Besides, it was probably better for them to get all the pain and awkwardness of the first time out of the way.

After a few minutes, the pain subsided and it actually started to feel good. Sharon got a blissful look on her face and moaned in pleasure. Alden caught on to her soft moaning and realized she was now enjoying this. Before they knew it, they both climaxed at the same time.

"Wow..." Sharon said between pants. "That was..."

"Amazing..." "Alden finished for her, also breathing heavily.

"Yeah..."

Alden got out of bed to deal with the condom. He took it off and walked across the room to throw it out in the wastebasket. Sharon pulled a sheet up to her chest and watched him as he walked back and fourth. He was naked and covered in sweat. He was the athletic type and played a lot of sports. And it showed! He was so muscular and toned. He had the perfect body. And she seriously just slept with him! Her first major crush. It felt like a dream come true.

As Alden made his way back to the bed, he took another look at Sharon. She looked so sexy with the sheet tangled around her and her skin glistening with sweat. She never took her hair down, so now it was damp and sticking up everywhere. Somehow, the headband managed to stay on. He was sure she spent hours getting her hair to look right. But he had a feeling she didn't care right now. He slid back into bed under the sheet with her. They both just laid there.

"I don't really feel like going back down to the party." Sharon said softly.

"Me neither. Besides, I think everyone's gonna know what we were doing when they see your hair..."

Sharon patted the top of her head and felt just how messed up her hair was. She laughed, which caused Alden to laugh too.

"Let's just lay in bed for the rest of the night. I'll think of something to tell everybody tomorrow."

"That sound good to me." He replied as they two lovers moved in closer and cuddled together in bed.

As Alden started to fall asleep, Sharon held up her right hand to admire the sapphire ring he gave her. She felt a little guilty for bailing on her own party, but she'd make it up to her friends. She was also gonna have to text Maria to let her know the sleepover was off. She mostly was still feeling amazing though. Now she finally understood why so many people were obsessed with sex. It truly was then most incredible experience in the world. She felt closer to Alden than ever. And this was definitely the best birthday she ever had.

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For anyone wondering about the older references (particularly AIM), I set this story in 2004. It was stated in _Mixed Messages_ that Alden was born in 1988. I assume Sharon would have been born that year too, which means she would have turned 16 in 2004. I wanted to be true to the timeline established on the show. And I just basically wanted to write about where I think all the characters would have been or where I would have liked them to have been about a year after the series took place. If I actually do have any readers, don't be shy about leaving a review. Tell me if you liked my story, didn't like it, what I could have done to make it better, etc. If this turns out to be more popular than expected, maybe I'll write more Shalden stories. I might do some Calyson or Marock stories too. Sorry to all Maria/Brock fans for giving them kind of a turbulent relationship. I like them together too, but it's how I realistically could see things going down between the two of them.

For anyone who was hoping the sex scene would be more detailed (I feel your pain!), I will be posting a more explicit version on Adult Fanfiction and Archive of Our Own very soon. I'll probably have it on at least one of those sites by tomorrow (It's gonna be the first Braceface fanfic for both of them!). It was how I originally wrote it, but had to clean it up for this site due to their strict guideline about MA rated material. Didn't want to risk my story getting deleted. Wouldn't be fair to any readers who enjoyed it and there's not enough Braceface fanfiction as is...


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